What if Everything Changed?
by OverlyObsessiveWriter
Summary: What if things were different? The threat is the same, but what if something interesting took place in this story? There are many different stories like this, but I'll tell you my version. It's one of many possibilities, not just from the decisions the friends must make. Everything has changed in this little story. So what will it look like? (Role Reversal AU)(ON HIATUS FOR NOW)
1. The Butterfly Effect

The date was Febuary 2, 2014, and a violent blizzard swirled around the peak of Blackwood Mountain, Canada. Joshua Washington, his twin sisters Hannah and Beth, and their friends Ashley, Chris, Emily, Matt, Mike, and Sam were inside the Washington lodge, sheltered from the storm. It was a break from school, and they were together for their annual Blackwood winter getaway.

But things were not as innocent as they seemed. No, from the stranger prowling outside the cabin, to something inhuman hunting for prey in the woods, even to the seemingly harmless event taking place behind the closed windows, sinister occasions were being sprung into motion without anyone's knowledge.

Just as a tiny butterfly flapping its wings can cause a devastating hurricane weeks later, the actions of the young adults will set a destructive night to happen one year later, where they will determine who will live or die until dawn.

But what if things were different? The threat is the same, but what if something _interesting_ took place in this story?

What if it was not the twins who were pranked? What if was not Sam, but another friend of her's, that must escape the psycho, who has a different identity? What if was not Emily and Matt, but a different couple, that must call for help in the radio tower? What if it was not Chris and Ashley, but two other friends with, instead of a good relationship, a poisonous rivalry, that faces the blade of a saw or the barrel of a gun? What if it was not Mike and Jess, but two people who are just friends, that go to the guest cabin and ends up in a dangerous chase?

Yes, everything would change. So what would it look like?

There are many different stories like this, but I'll tell you my version. It's one of many possibilities, not just from the decisions the friends must make. They'll live, don't worry, but I'll show you some alternative scenes that could have happened if they chose something else. And I apologize if the characters don't act like themselves. They are, after all, in different scenarios than what we have originally seen them in.


	2. One Year Ago

Mike stared idly out the window, simply watching the storm with no real interest. Two blondes, Chris and Jess, slept facedown on the counter, passed out on their stools. Behind the three young adults, Matt placed a note on the counter while Sam clasped her hands in anticipation and the twins, Beth and Hannah, watched.

"Oh my God! I can't believe you actually did this!" She whispered as Matt shushed her excitedly. Hannah stepped up to Matt to voice her objection,"Don't you guys think this is a little bit cruel?"

"Oh come on, she deserves it." Matt replied.

"It's not her fault that she has a huge crush on Beth." Hannah retorted, in defense of her friend.

"Ashley's been making the moves on her," Matt pointed at Sam and grinned."I'm just making sure that Sam doesn't lose her girlfriend." He began to walk to the guest room, Sam and Beth trailing behind him.

"Just because she's the ultimate queen of drama club doesn't mean she belongs to everyone," Sam was saying, "Beth is my girl."

"Hey, Sam. I'm not some kind of a territorial trophy." Beth replied to Sam's comment. The blonde scoffed, "Whatever you say, Darling!"

Behind the trio, Josh and Emily chatted with each other as they followed them out of the room. Hannah frowned and walked upstairs, not wanting to have anything to do with the event. She couldn't believe that Beth and Josh actually agreed to participating; Ashley could be pretty sensitive sometimes, especially when it has to do with Beth. Although Hannah wasn't super close to her, she really didn't want Ashley getting hurt, because the redhead was a big feeler. When a person feels something, Ashley feels double that emotion. And Hannah just did not wish for that to happen.

"Ashley!" The brunette called out in concern, "Ash?" She kept looking for her friend.

* * *

In the guest room, Emily let out a small laugh from behind the partition while Josh stepped into the closet with a phone supported by a selfie stick. Beth stood in the middle of the room as Sam and Matt kept giggling and scooted themselves under the bed, not caring if they looked like two-year-olds.

"Shh!" Sam shushed this time, "She's coming!"

"Beth?" Ashley walked through the dark hallways, a candle in hand, towards the guest room. She opened the door and closed it again after stepping inside. "Beth? It's Ashley."

Beth greeted her with a smile,"Hey Ash."

* * *

Mike blinked in surprise when he saw a dark figure a few feet away from the window move away from the edge of his vision. He hadn't paid much attention to it at first, but when the stranger shuffled past, he realized it was a person and not just some shadow of snow or a tree. He became puzzled thinking about the identity of that person and his or her purpose.

"Hey...Did you see that?" He questioned Chris and Jess, not knowing they were unconscious. "Josh said it would just be us up here this weekend." He turned around when he was met with silence. "Chris? Jess?"

He walked to the two snoring teenagers and picked up the bottle beside Chris. Inspecting it told him the whole story: Chris and Jess were passed out drunk.

"Jeez Chris..." Mike snorted, patting his blonde friend and setting the bottle down. "Once again, you and Jess have outdone us all." He grinned amusingly as Chris simply grunted tiredly when the brunette shook his shoulders.

Suddenly, he saw a piece of paper facedown further away on the counter. Curious, Mike approached it. He hadn't seen that before he turned around and got lost in his thoughts while staring out the window. Well, he did recall hearing the voices of his friends in the background, but he didn't pay any attention to make out what they were saying. Maybe this note had to do with their conversation.

He twirled the note closer to himself before picking it up and reading the words on the other side:

 _Ashley_

 _You're a pretty big sleeper hit in that shirt_ _..._

 _But I bet you're even hotter without it._

 _Come to the guest room at 2:00 a.m. ;)_

 _Beth_

 _XXX_

"Whoa." Mike was taken aback. He was definitely not expecting that. It was so unlike Beth to write anything like that, even if she was attracted to girls. Unless... The teen bit his lip. "Oh, okay then." Ashley wasn't really naive, but if the youngest Washington was involved, maybe it was possible for Ashley to become really gullible. "What the hell did Ash get herself into now?"

* * *

"I got your note." Ashley looked extremely nervous finally talking to her longtime crush alone and...privately. Beth nodded, "Glad you could make it." The younger girl gulped,"So...do you think I actually look hot in this shirt?"

"Of course! My note said it all!"

The redhead gave the other girl a sweet smile as Beth's turned into a shit-eating grin. "So...how about we start with a little, you know, making out? And see where it goes from there?"

Ashley took off her dark grey puffer jacket, setting it aside next to the candle on a nearby wardrobe. She turned a light shade of pink as she stared down at the buttons of her long-sleeved teal shirt.

"Ohhh hell yeah." Beth's grin got wider as Ashley began fumbling with the buttons. She started to take her shirt off completely, leaving her only clad in her bra and her favorite silver necklace, when Matt, unable to contain himself, whispered fiercely to Sam,"Oh my God! She's taking her shirt off!"

"What...?"Ashley looked up at the sudden outburst, her eyes becoming wide with horror and her face burning as she realized what was happening. "Oh my God!" She covered her cleavage with her shirt again as everybody popped out of their hiding spots, including Josh, with the phone recording the whole scene.

"Josh!?" She stuttered, pulling her clothing over her shoulders. The red-haired girl looked around at everyone, her face showing hurt and embarrassment. "What are you doing here!?"

"Uh, I'm sorry, Ashley, this all got outta hand, but..." Beth tried to reason with a humiliated Ashley when Hannah walked in and surveyed the event before her.

"Ashley! Oh crap..." The newcomer muttered, knowing the damage had already been done. She turned her full attention to her friend.

"Beth!" Ashley's eyes filled with tears threatening to spill as the older twin spoke to her, "Ashley, hey, girl... Don't... it's all just a..."

The victimized girl opened the door and ran out of the room before Hannah finished speaking. "...stupid prank."

"Uh... damn!" Beth groaned.

Hannah turned to everybody else in the room and gave them a glare of disapproval. "You guys can be jerks sometimes. You know that?" She then raced after Ashley, calling out her name as she ran.

* * *

Mike set the note down and looked out the window again when he saw a person run past. He gave a small shocked gasp and took a step back. Okay, he definitely saw someone that time. But that person looked like one of his friends... probably Ashley, judging from the teal shirt. But what was she doing without her jacket on? And why was she outside? He looked back at the note and a few pieces of the puzzle clicked together in his mind.

"Chris!" Mike ran to the blonde and tried to shake him awake. "Chris! Jess..." Chris' head only lolled to the side and the brunette gave up.

"Fuck." He groaned. Trying to wake them up when they were drunk was pointless.

"Guys! I think Ash's outside!" Mike ran out of the room and saw Hannah, Beth, Matt, Sam, Josh, and Emily gathering outside the front door. His curiosity and anxiety increased as he grabbed his red coat and ran towards the others. "What the hell..." he muttered under his breath.

"ASHLEY!" Hannah called out as the others followed her. Mike joined them, pushing aside Beth and Josh. "What's going on? Where's Ashley going?"

"Ugh, it's fine." Matt waved his hand dismissively, "She just can't take a joke."

"It was just a prank, Ash!" Sam yelled into the woods.

Mike felt slightly angry at the two statements. "What did you do!?" he demanded.

"We were just messing around, Mike. It wasn't anything major-" Beth started to explain before the male brunette cut her off. "Seriously, guys? You know how sensitive she can be!" Beth opened her mouth to argue, but Mike simply yelled "YOU JERKS!" at everybody before running into the thick forest, calling out Ashley's name.

"So...should we go after her?" Beth asked awkwardly.

Hannah looked at her twin sister, still upset in the role Beth played. "You know, I think you're the last person she wants to see right now, Beth." She replied sarcastically.

* * *

The cold air of the mountain cut deeply into Mike's skin as he ran farther into the trees, looking for any sign of the redhead. He and Ashley weren't really close or talked to each other much, but he cared about all of his friends. Besides, he always felt sorry for Ashley whenever she was hurt.

"Oh shit!" he muttered as he pushed a tree branch out of his face and focused on the trail in front of him. He jumped over a log and came to a ledge with some stairs leading down to another path. Mike decided to ignore them and jumped down the ledge. He wanted to find Ashley as quick as possible.

The brunette landed on both feet and continued running, panting for breath and occasionally looking to the side. Eventually, he came to two paths leading in the opposite directions. A few crows flew off, scared by a large snapping noise on the right path, while deep footprints lined the snow on the left path. He chose to follow the footprints and started to pick up speed again, only to be stopped by three deer with their necks bent low to eat the vegetation. One of them noticed him and looked upwards. Mike ran forwards again, only for the animals to run off the path.

"Huh?" He stood still again, staring after the deer. The abrupt sound of a snapping branch startled him, causing the teenager to turn around violently.

"Jesus! Fuck, shit!" Mike yelled out loud to himself before observing the area and muttering to himself "Dammit Ashley... Where are you?" He jogged further down the path, hoping to catch any sign of the redhead, before dropping down another ledge.

It was getting very dark now, and Mike knew he couldn't see without a light, so he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his phone. He swiped his fingers across the screen and instantly, the phone cast a bright beam onto the snowy path in front of him.

"Ashley?" He walked forward, disturbing more crows as he directed the light around. He shivered, pulling his coat around himself to shield his body from the howling wind. White puffs drifted in the air among the snowflakes, falling to cover the teenager's footsteps. The wavering frost-covered branches gave him an intense feeling of unease, as if something were out there, ready to ambush him at any moment. _Come on Ash, please don't run out this far. I don't want to stay out here._ He thought to himself.

Walking past a fallen log, Mike encountered a deer rushing across the path, taking him by surprise and causing him to stumble slightly. He quickly maintained his standing posture and began to walk faster, his growing sense of dread increasing rapidly with every step left behind and every clear drop of frozen water landing on the earth.

He definitely didn't like this situation, and he did not want Ashley or himself to stay in it. Each breeze seemed to scream at him that something dangerous would happen if he continued, that there was something out there that would harm both of them the first chance it got. Mike quickly swallowed and tried to stop his voice from quavering in fear as he called out.

"Hello?"

"Hellooo!?"

The brunette swung his light around the path, searching for any sign of the redhead, when he saw something at the edge of his vision, at the base of a tree surrounded by bushes. He blinked, then turned and walked towards a dark rectangular shape on the ground, a sudden contrast to the pure white blanket of snow and ice. The teenager kneeled over and studied the object.

 _Some kind of totem?_ He thought to himself. It appeared to be made of the same wood of the forest, but black patterns decorated the surface.

Mike hesitantly reached out his hand, but curiosity overwhelmed doubt and he let his fingers close over the totem, lifting it up and turning it over. He saw a simple design of a butterfly cut into the wood, outlined in black and revealing a deep darkness inside the totem. Before he could think about the symbol, however, time seemed to stop and the cold seemed to grip his body, freezing him to the bone. His eyes swiftly descended to nothingness as his mind was penetrated with a unexpected vision.

* * *

 _Mike landed with his back on the rock, the impact sending out a sickening crack and scarlet drops flying from his mouth before he slipped off the stone surface and continued falling. Ashley dropped beside him and followed his path down the cliff._

 _The two eventually came to a halt, faces scratched and bruised, eyes unblinking, not seeing anything but darkness._

 _Dead._

* * *

Mike nearly dropped the totem as the seconds moved by once more and his body regained control. His breath fogged in front of him as he stared at the black butterfly design, horrified at the vision. He gulped nervously and set the totem facedown again, getting back on his feet unsteadily.

The fear and uncertainty building up inside of him was telling him to turn back and return to the safety of the lodge, but Mike was still to shocked to listen. _What was that?_ His mind kept repeating to himself. _I just saw a vision of me and Ash dying. Am I fucked up or something? It looked so real..._

Mike continued walking down the path, still looking around for Ashley to distract himself from what the totem had showed him, but it was unsuccessful. His eyes did not analyze the shadows as hard as before.

 _Was that the future?_ His blood froze at the thought. _Are we going to die out here?_ The more he kept thinking about the possibility, the more tempting it became to walk away. But he shoved the urges to the back of his head and blocked them with thoughts of the victimized girl. _No, I won't let that happen! Maybe it's determinant. Maybe it might not come true..._ He made a mental note to himself not to go anywhere near a cliff.

The symphony of the storm's howling gales and screaming winds was interrupted by a loud hissing. "Huh?" The brunette looked up and saw a faint orange glow amid the trees on the side of the path. _Strange... Is someone else out here?_

"ASHLEY!" He called out the redhead's name, still treading down the path. He nearly jumped when flames came spurting out of the trees, cutting a burst of heat through the frigid air. His heartbeat immediately picked up speed. "What the hell was that?" The fire couldn't be natural. Someone was definitely out here with them.

 _But who? And what is the fire for?_

Mike's ears suddenly picked up quiet sobbing over the screeching wind, and peering through more branches revealed a crouched figure.

"Ashley?" He brushed the leaves aside and saw the girl clearly. "Ashley!?" She looked over, teeth chattering and tears frozen on her face. "Hello?"She whispered.

The male teenager rushed over, unzipping his jacket. "Ash! Oh my God you must be freezing." Ashley shamefully hid her face with her hair as Mike draped the coat over her shoulders. "Here, take my coat." he murmured.

The redhead put her arms into the sleeves while standing up shakily, still crying, "I'm such an idiot! I'm so dumb to think Beth actually wanted to see me like that..."

"Hey, Ashley? It's alright..." The brunette tried to comfort her, fears forgotten and not noticing a presence close by.

* * *

Two bright blue shapes moved among the red ocean of vision.

 **Hmmm... Hungry.**

It's been so long since it's last meal.

 **Very hungry... Humans... Fresh food...**

It knows they are completely defenseless, and stranded in the cold.

 **Such easy prey... Easy to kill... To eat...**

It knows there is no need for hiding.

 **Food... Flesh... Fresh food...**

 **Attack and eat... Satisfy hunger... Fresh meat...**

 **KILL. EAT FLESH.**

It knows it must attack now.

* * *

A inhuman scream tore through the air, the sound bouncing off the trees trunks and making the two teenagers turn around quickly. Ashley stopped crying, her eyes becoming wide with fear.

"Mike?" she whispered nervously. "Uhh.. Ashley?" he tried to look at the source of the screech hidden the the trees. They both took steps back as snapping branches and indescribable noises echoed from the forest. The duo knew this wasn't anything good and after a few seconds, they began running.

Their pace turned into sprints as they tried desperately to distance themselves from whatever it was. Eventually, they came across a bridge. Sobbing and panting at the same time, Ashley tripped on the floorboards and fell to the ground.

"Ash!" Mike rushed back, helped her to her feet, and continued running in the opposite direction, failing to notice his phone fall from his pocket and through the silts of the bridge. They were too busy trying to escape.

"Oh Jesus Christ!" Ashley whimpered as they both came to a stop, facing a cliff. They turned back, casting quick, scared, glances down the mountain and at the DANGER sign. Mike saw the vision of death from a great height flash through his mind, increasing his panic. _Nonononono...This can't be happening...We shouldn't die like this..._

"No!" Mike yelled in hopelessness, Ashley holding his hand so tightly her knuckles turned white and her face petrified beyond words.

* * *

The prey is cornered. Trapped.

 **ATTACK. KILL. TAKE CHANCE NOW.**

Finally, it will have a meal. Its goal for the rest of its life.

* * *

"NO! Shit, no! Get Back!" Mike's head was flooding with panic and dread. _We can't be about to die right now... We're all back at the lodge, safe from the storm and this thing...We're here to have a good time, and eventually we will get apologies from the people who pranked Ashley...We're fine, we're all fine...Please, let us be fine..._

But he knew it was false. The vision from the totem was searing his brain to the point where it was almost painful. They were getting closer to the edge, and the creature was getting closer, and it's cold, and dark, and they're lost...Oh fuck nuggets.

"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod...Mike, please, this can't be happening!" Ashley wailed, gripping his hand even tighter.

"Fuck!" He gritted his teeth and they took another step back when they saw a dark shape emerge from the curtain of white. His heart was stabbed by a cold talon when he hear a cracking sound behind them. The duo looked back to see the sign break in half behind them and felt their feet slid through the snow.

"NO! ARGH!"Mike and Ashley both screamed as the winter air began to pull them down towards the abyss below. The male teenager frantically grabbed for something- anything- when he felt his hand curl over a lone branch sticking from the ledge. Instantly, the sense of weightlessness was shattered by the feeling of hanging by thread.

Mike tightened his hold over the branch and the redhead, dangling uselessly below him and sobbing from the sight of the darkness beneath them, ready to take their lives. _Don't let go, don't break, don't do anything..._ he repeated in his head, hoping they could dodge the chance of falling.

"MICHAEL! OH GOD WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Ashley screamed hysterically, the cold gales blowing so hard the two teenagers were helplessly swinging along with the wind.

"Just hold on Ashley!" Mike yelled back to the girl "Hold on!" Amber fire burst from the edge of the cliff above them, cutting through the cold air and sending a blast of heat on the duo. Ashley's sobs grew louder and Mike's breath was caught in his throat. _That's the fire... There must be a person here._

Suddenly, a dark figure loomed above them, causing the male teenager to look up and almost choke in surprise. _Oh God, there is someone here..._ His brown eyes widened as the mysterious person extended a gloved hand down to Mike, indicating for him to grab onto. _Holy shit, we're going to be saved... We'll be okay..._ But his heart plummeted immediately as he realized he couldn't be pulled up without him letting go of something. He looked from the redhead to the hand, trying to make a decision.

He couldn't let go of the branch, obviously. They'd both just fall and die anyways. And he couldn't drop Ashley either. The mere though of risking her life to save himself made his mind fill with disgust and self-hatred for thinking about it. There was no fucking way he would drop Ashley! She had been humiliated in front of her friends, and she was in one of her worst nightmares in her wild imagination. Dropping her would just be... well, unforgivable.

Then what should he do? He had no free hands to pull them both up, and he doubted the stranger would be able to reach any farther. Then a snapping sound, loud enough over the howling storm, snapped him from his frantic train of thoughts.

"NO! Fuck, no!" he cursed as the branch broke in half and Ashley yelped when the they dropped lower away from the hand. Mike tried desperately to curl his fingers over the remains of the anchor to the edge of the cliff, but they only slipped from the frosted surface.

The teenagers' screams sliced though the cold and echoed to the deepest areas of the space below as they fell.

 _We're going to die._ Mike could only repeat the phase in his head. _We're going to fucking die right now._ The totem vision flashed through his mind once again. _We can't stop it. We're going to-_

The impact of his back on the rock dismembered his spine and sent a burning pain through his body. His terrified scream was cut of by crimson rivers of blood gushing from his mouth as the slid down the rock along with Ashley and continued tumbling down rocks and ice.

Bloody scrapes and bruises marked his face and exposed arms, but his mind was too agonized to feel them. Only when they bounced off one last rock and stopped on the hard, cold ground did Mike's head begin to clear. But this time, it was darkness gnawing on his sense of self instead of clearing out. Of Death burning away his memories, his personality, his whole life, and casting them away into oblivion.

The last thing his saw was Ashley's unmoving face, riddled with blood and gashes, her blank green eyes seeing nothing.

 _Oh God..._

 _Ashley... I'm sorry..._

 _I'm so fucking... Sorry everyone..._

 _I'm... Sorry..._

And nothing else came.

* * *

 **Finally done! Thank you guys so much for the kind reviews you left me already! I hope this keeps your interest up.**

 **First things first, there's a reason I killed Ashley and Mike. It's not that I don't like them, but I wanted to do a role reversal where some people other than the twins were killed in the prologue. I have only seen one other fanfiction with that concept, but I think it was deleted. (It was a good one too, dang it.) I really liked Mike and Ash, but I didn't want the twins to die again! So yeah, sorry about that.**

 **Second, expect some OOC-ness, especially with Sam and Matt. If you know what roles everyone has during this chapter, you will catch that (SPOILERS) Sam is going to play Emily and Matt will play Jess. Yep, so Sam going to act like a bitch at times, and I will definitely going to have to work on the fight scene between them. I really wanted to see Sam down in the mines, and Matt ended up in Jessica's role when I was finished swapping, so I will try to keep them in character as much as I can.**

 **Next, I will try to post chapters as much as I can. Some may be longer and can take a really long time, others (Like the therapy sessions) will be posted fairly quickly. All I ask is that you please be patient and you don't give up on me. There are times where I have to force myself to write, or when life decides to keep me from writing, and other times where I don't write the best I can. (I hope nearing the end of this fanfiction, I can revise all of my mistakes and sharpen my chapters, but that's still a long way to go.) But I will finish this fanfiction as quickly as I can, both for the sake of you readers and for the sake of starting more stories.**

 **Thank you guys again, I hope you enjoyed the prologue and please review, it's very helpful. And check my profile for updates on this story and others.**

 **NOTE: I do not own any of the characters or the plot of Until Dawn. The cover image als** **o belongs to Supermassive Games. All mistakes are mine, and any offense in this chapter is unintentional, so I apologize if I do offend you in any way.**


	3. The Analyst: 1

_Clink, clink, clink, clink..._

It's warm. And plenty of light is seeping in through the open windows. The chair is soft and very comfy with classical music playing in the background. The desk is stacked with neat papers and a pen sat near a small lamp. The whole room looked like an everyday office, casual and organized. Everything looked normal. Not anything unusual, every item put perfectly in place, normal.

So why is the atmosphere so... well, eerie? The room should have felt peaceful and relaxing...

Oh. Right.

It's because of the stone plaque sitting on the desk. And the words engraved on it.

DR. A.J. HILL

And this isn't any regular office. It's a psychiatrist's.

No wonder.

 _Clink, clink, clink..._

He's at the window, stirring a spoon in a cup.

Must be making coffee or tea. Nice for him.

Then he turns around and slowly walks to his desk.

"Before we begin, there are a few things I need to make sure you understand." He finishes his sentence as he gets closer.

"You see, no one can change what happened last year." Dr. Hill continues.

Yeah, that. That accident.

"The past is beyond our control." He sits down and sets his cup aside. "You have to accept this in order to move forward."

Like that's actually easy.

The man clasps his hands together. Looks like he's not done talking.

"But there is freedom in this revelation. Everything you do, every decision you make from now on, will open doors to the future." He smiles as if the idea was as the best solution to every problem. It doesn't really make sense.

"I want you to remember this. I want you to remember this as you play your game."

Ah. Right, right, righty right. The game. It's supposed to be fun.

"Every single choice you make will effect your fate and the fate of those around you."

Suddenly, he leaned in closer.

Whoa. Dude, that's way too close.

"So. You have committed to commence with this 'game'. This is significant." He pulled his face away a few inches. Better, but still kinda close. "And I want to help you see it through." He leaned back in his chair. Finally, he's in his own personal space.

"Sometimes... sometimes these things can be a little bit scary... even terrifying... but I am here to make sure that no matter how upsetting things may get," His grin grew very wide. "You will always find a way to work through it." He nodded his head while still smiling, making a small sound of satisfaction. Then his face grew serious and he looked down at the papers strewn across his desk.

"Alright." Dr. Hill continued. Whopee, he's done with his speech. Now the work begins. "We will start with a simple exercise."

He grabbed a rectangular sheet of paper and set it down right in the middle of the table. "Could you please pick up the card? And I want you to look at the picture on the other side and tell me what you feel about it." He was balancing a page of notes on his knee with his pen raised above it as he was talking. "It is essential that you answer honestly to get the most out of this experience." He smiled encouragingly. Again.

What a creep.

Flipping the card over reveals a picture full of green and blue and a bit of red. It was a big cornfield, with the yellow cobs peeking from the tips of the stalks. There was a red barn standing in the distance with a full clear sky and puffy white clouds overhead. It would have been a very beautiful picture, honestly, if it weren't for the scarecrow. It seemed that the figure was a mess of brown among the pretty green plants and a crack in the calmness of the blue atmosphere.

"So..." Dr. Hill uncapped his pen. "How did that picture make you feel? Remember: be honest."

 **I feel uneasy**

"Okay..." He started writing notes on the paper. "Honest is good. But what do you think it is that makes you feel... uneasy?"

 **The scarecrow**

"I see... I see... Let's say the scarecrow were not there... Would you feel comfortable staying there on your own for a period of time? Say a week, for example?"

 **No, I wouldn't**

"Oh no? And why not?"

 **I'd be lonely**

"Ah." An expression of triumph and understanding dawned on his face. "There's a fine line between the peacefulness of solitude and the loneliness of isolation." He said the last word in an almost mysterious way, as if it were something dangerous. "Perhaps this is something we can explore in the future. Hm?"

He's still smiling. Ugh. Then he looks down at his watch. "'Cos I'm afraid we're out of time." Oh wait, really? Yay, great, now we don't have to listen or deal with Dr. Creepy-guy-who-smiles-a-lot.

"For now. Until our next session." Oh.

"And until then, try to surround yourself with friends... in a place that makes you feel... safe."

Huh, sounds nice and appealing. Definitely better than hanging out with this guy.

Dr. Hill gets up from his chair after setting down his pen and notes. Picking up his tea or coffee, he hums a small tune as he walks aimlessly to the window, in the exact same spot he was in when the session started.

 _Clink, clink, clink..._

Stuff should be getting interesting now.

* * *

 **I'll reply to your comments in the next part. There's only one more small part of the prologue, so it may be updated fairly quickly.**

 **Enjoy this little therapy session for now. :)**


	4. One Year Later

_O Death_

 _O Death_

 _Won't you spare me over 'till another year?_

 _..._

 _Well what is this, that I can't see?_

 _With ice cold hands taking hold of me_

 _When God is gone and the Devil takes hold_

 _Who'll have mercy on my soul?_

 _O, Death, O Death, consider my age_

 _Please don't take me at this stage_

 _..._

 _O Death_

 _O Death_

 _Won't you spare me over 'till another year?_

* * *

 **"Today is the one year anniversary of the dreadful tragedy that took place on Mount Washington... Sheriff Annie Cline who was in charge of the investigation..."**

 **"Thanks for having me, Marty."**

Static occasionally flickered in and out of the radio broadcast, causing some words to be unheard. Hannah didn't really mind. She already knew what happened, but she just wanted to hear any recent news on Ashley and Mike. Not that it mattered.

Everybody now assumed that the two were dead, but they were still labeled as missing due to a lack of confirmation. Hannah would have liked to believe that they were alive and waiting, but there wasn't any way for the duo to survive that long in the cold without either finding help or being found.

The brunette simply watched the snowflakes rushed past the windows of the bus as it drove down the path to Blackwood Mountain. Usually Hannah would be alongside Beth, but her twin had left before her, probably to prepare the rest of the lodge. Josh had started the job, but he ended up passing it so he could help his new girlfriend Sam. Her breakup with Beth was very rough and messy, so Sam ended up starting a new relationship with the twins' older brother.

Everybody had felt guilty and remorseful about the prank, including Chris and Jessica for not doing anything in the situation. Their whole group was like tiny leaves floating in a pond, just one stone sinking two friends and sending other people drifting away from each other in the ripples. Some leaves still floated together, but most of them didn't, examples being Matt and Sam planting resentment between them or Jess and Emily exchanging venomous words and insulting remarks.

Even Hannah didn't spend much time with her siblings due to their involvement in the prank. Sure, they still talked about what was bothering them or to share opinions, but the warm paths between them had been partly blocked by an icy wall of unease.

 **"...Listeners an update on Ashley and Micheal, the two teenagers who are still missing..."**

 **"One year ago tonight, the duo left the safety of the Washington Estate and headed out into a snowstorm..."**

 **"...Foul play?"**

 **"Not officially no. There is one individual we're considering as a person of interest, but his whereabouts are currently unknown. He has an interesting history with the Washington family. He had warned them against pursuing their construction project and claimed the land was sacred to his forefathers."**

 **"You know, there is still the old Sanatorium on the mountain. Could he be hiding there?"**

 **"My officers did search the grounds, but... The kids themselves couldn't have made it that far."**

 **"Something about that mountain seems to breed tragic events."**

 **"More than you know Marty."**

The bus violently shuddered, causing Hannah to look up. Seeing it was nothing serious, she focused again on her phone playing the local Blackwood radio app.

 **"Well thank you for joining us, Annie... To the families and friends of the two teenagers... the anniversary of the mysterious disappearance of Ashley Welsh and Micheal Munroe."**

The teenager just sighed and tapped out of the audio, thinking of her lost friends.

Hannah only knew Ashley because of their interlocked social groups, but their time together caused them to realize they had similar qualities. Favorite movies, favorite type of music, favorite soda, just to name a few. Eventually, they grew warmer to each other, and the loss of the inquisitive redhead tore a large hole in their group. Mike was a little bit more difficult for Hannah to get past.

Okay, it was pretty obvious to the whole group that Hannah had a crush on him. She just couldn't help it. He was just so funny, so brave, so nice... Her list just went on and on, but she never got her hopes up. It wasn't that Mike ignored her, he was actually pretty polite to her, he just never took Hannah's crush on him seriously and always flirted with Jessica, Emily, and sometimes even Sam. She was still on the edge of denying that Mike was gone. And so was Chris.

She knew the boy was absolutely crushed by the aftermath of the prank. Ashley was one of his closest friends, Mike was a good companion besides Josh, and losing them both was like a brick smashing into his head. Hannah and her brother had been by his side, but it was still hard for Chris to accept the harsh reality. He had done worse than her, but she found out that they both related to the disappearance. Hannah lost Mike, and Chris confessed to both her and Josh that he had a crush on Ashley.

With some reluctant therapy and comfort from all of his friends, Chris seemed to have gotten a lot better, even good enough to ask Josh if they could have another getaway with the rest of the group. He claimed it was to get some closure, but he was still pretty hurt over the disappearances, and there were some not-so-good relationships among the friends, so Hannah was a little concerned on how it would all go down. She at least hoped that nothing too major would spoil the party.

Speaking of the big event, Hannah searched through her phone to find the video that was sent out to everybody in the circle of friends, informing them of the getaway. Then she hit play and listened to Josh's voice through her earbuds.

"Well, hello friends and fans..." The image of her brother popped up on the screen, with his arms spread out in a welcoming gesture. "Alright, lets do that again." He walked up to the camera and adjusted its clarity. Then he walked back again with his usual lazy smile plastered on his face.

"Alright. Well hello friends and fans! It's beyond awesome to have you guys all back this year. Um, so, my buddy Chris would like a few words, since it's his idea... So, Chris?"

"Okay, I'm coming!" A voice yelled from off screen. A moment later and Josh had left the screen, replaced with another boy with dirty blond hair worn in a faux-hawk style, black rectangular glasses similar to Hannah's, and a happy grin.

"Okay! Hi there guys! So..." Chris cleared his throat, "First off, I gotta say I am super excited to welcome all my pals back to the annual Blackwood winter getaway!" He raised his hands and imitated a cheer. Then he looked away from the camera for a moment. "Was that good?"

"Yeah bro, that was epic!"

"Okay, okay... Thanks..."

Hannah couldn't help but smile at the chuckling two friends. The teenager on the screen then looked back to the camera, his smile brightening, and then fading a little bit more.

Uh oh... It's going to get serious.

"So let me just let you know..." Chris' smile had completely melted off his face, leaving behind a mournful and almost devastated expression. "Let's take a moment to address the 'elephant int he room' for a second..."

There was a long pause. Hannah always held her breath at this part, knowing the touchy subject Chris had a hard time dealing with.

"I know you're all probably worried about me... And I know it's gonna be tough on all of us going back after what happened last year..." The blond seriously looked like he was going to break down at this point. Josh's movement was audible, but Chris held up his hand and choked back a sob threatening to crawl out of his throat.

"But-I just want you to know... Um... It means... It means so much to me that we're doing this. And I..." He looked straight into the camera, his pale blue eyes filled with a sorrowful determination.

"I know it would mean so much to Ashley and Mike that we're still all here together, thinking of them." Speaking the names seemed to crack the dam holding back his endless grief, but at the same time, some of the water behind its prison evaporated at the thought of being together.

"I really want to spend some quality time with each and every one of you and share some moments that we'll never forget." Chris smiled hopefully and Hannah's heart fractured a little, watching him try to be strong in the face of the traumatic flashback.

"For the sake of our friends, you know?" Chris nodded, then his depressed mask was replaced with a joyful face.

"Okay! So... Let's party like we're fucking porn stars, okay?" Hannah immediately heard Josh trying to muffle his laughter and she smiled, both at the absurdity of the line and her brother's poor attempts at staying quiet. "And make this one trip we will never forget, alright?"

"Hell yeah, Cochise!" Josh's voice yelled off-screen, and Chris started cracking up, throwing his arms in the air and cheering, "Yes!" just as Hannah stopped the video.

Small rays of late sunlight peeked through the clouds and illuminated the trees blanketed with snow and ice. The brunette resumed her interest in the winter background, but her mind wandered away the frozen droplets blurring past the glass barrier. She already knew she would remember this trip, whether it was good or bad. She just hoped it would turn out fine, but she knew the unexpected was lurking around, waiting to ruin the whole thing.

* * *

Hannah was correct being wary of the unknown.

But she didn't count on the harsh stone ridges of the mountain and the wavering frost-coated leaves to provide it.

And she certainly didn't expect Native American culture to be involved.

Or a blue butterfly fluttering across a broken ice patch to cast a breeze that would turn the tables for better or for worse.

Or the one year ago to return and haunt that night more deeply and differently than anticipated.

She didn't even think about ten hours changing eight lives forever.

If she could see the complete future, she would have done things differently to defy Death and save everyone from the darkest points of that night.

But she could only see transparent outlines for the future.

So she remained unwary of what was yet to come, only knowing that her actions will shape what will happen.

She didn't expect her actions to determine who will live and who will die.

And she didn't expect the stranger prowling outside the cabin, or something inhuman hunting for prey in the woods, or the occasion taking place behind the closed windows to infer with the night or even happen.

Ah, how quickly all of them learned...

* * *

 _O, I am Death, and none can tell_

 _If I open the door to heaven or hell_

 _No wealth, no land, no silver, nor gold_

 _Nothing satisfies me but your soul_

 _I'm Death, I come to take the soul_

 _Leave the body and leave it cold_

 _..._

 _O Death_

 _O Death_

 _Won't you spare me over till another year?_

* * *

 **OMG I LOVE THAT SONG SO FREAKING MUCH I HAVE TO PUT IT IN HERE!**

 **Yeah, this is the theme song of Until Dawn itself, _O' Death_. I've been listening to it nonstop as I'm finishing this up. It's an actually song, and I think it was also used for  Supernatural, but the lyrics were rearranged to fit the game. Check it out, it's so beautiful...**

 **I'm sorry this took such a long time, I've been having soon issues with *cough cough* writer's block *cough cough***

 **Like I said last time, here are my replies to your reviews:**

 **Frog The Kermit:** **In all honesty, I really did hate killing Ashley and Mike. Ashley's actually my fave, and when I think of this story, I think about what Ashley and Mike are doing and then I realize they're dead. Yep, sorry, but I didn't want to do another story with a dead Hannah and Beth. I planned out some other role reversal stories with the twins not dying, but the one that made the most sense was with a dead Ash and Mike. *Waaaaaah* Otherwise, I'm glad you're on the hype train for this. And I'll give you a hint to your question: I dropped a detail in the scene before everybody popped out of their hiding places. I'll keep adding more hints as the clues come into play.**

 **PamPotterEvans:** **Thank you for your interest! It's people like you who make me want to keep updating!**

 **SuperCalebX: I'm glad you agree with my thinking of not killing the twins, because it was tough for me to kill Ashley... and I know not all role reversal fanfictions use therapy sessions, but I wanted to make this story more connected with the game, like the totems and eventually the clues and the butterfly effect. Thanks for your review!**

 **Guest: I'm happy you enjoyed it! It's fun to play the game and make the decisions without knowing what will happen, (Unlike me... Because I couldn't stop myself from the spoilers *sigh*) so if you plan on reading this story all the way through, you'll get a close experience to the game.**

 **MulishaMaiden: Thank you so much for your encouragement! I'm also excited on how this story will turn out, because there are some places in this story that will have to change because of the role swap or maybe because I just want to change some things.**

 **Again, I will try to get the official first chapter out sometime, and I hope you like the last part of the prologue! Criticism is welcome as long as it's constructive, and if you're wondering what I'm doing, check my profile for updates.**

 **NOTE: I do not own any of the characters or the plot of Until Dawn. The cover image als** **o belongs to Supermassive Games. All mistakes are mine, and any offense in this chapter is unintentional, so I apologize if I do offend you in any way.**


	5. Author's Note

This is just going to be an Author's Note, but I'll replace this with the actual chapter later on.

THIS FANFICION IS NOT ABANDONED. I've just lost some interest in it, but I WILL finish this story, even if it takes me 20 years (Which I'm also hoping doesn't happen...)

Thankfully, since this is just a role reversal story, it's basically the same as the actual game, so it'll be much easier to complete and you can easily imagine what happens.

I've been working on some other stuff, but I've finally decided to go back to working on this story. Just want you guys to know that this will not be abandoned. On long pauses, but not abandoned.

Anyways, this will be replace by the actual chapter later on, but hopefully, I'll manage to pull it off quick.

Thanks you for understanding.


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